


Roar

by platonicharmonics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Healthy Relationships, Lance (Voltron) Has ADHD, Missing Scene, Oblivious Shiro (Voltron), Season/Series 02 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 12:12:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10189667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonicharmonics/pseuds/platonicharmonics
Summary: Lance gritted his teeth and looked away long enough to blink back tears. “You’re supposed to be a hero! You’re supposed to know everything! When I was in the Garrison, I thought you were the perfect role model, that you were who I should try to be! But you’re not!You’re nothing like the you I knew!”Lance calls Shiro out on his BS.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since I saw [this post](http://platonicharmonics.tumblr.com/post/157880796003/letkeithinfodump-letkeithinfodump-lance) on Tumblr, it burrowed itself into my brain and wouldn't leave me alone. I've seen other people write fic responses to it, but I kept feeling this intense need to write my own, so... I did. 
> 
> Space Dad needs some tough love sometimes.

As the Blades of Marmora walked off with Princess Allura and Coran towards the command center, the Paladins lingered behind in the Lion Hub. Lance finally felt comfortable enough with the Galra gone to point out the obvious. “Keith? _Keith_ , dude, _what happened?!_ ”

He reached up to cup Keith’s jaw and get a closer look at the bruises, cuts, and scrapes that covered his face. Keith hissed and jerked away, ducking behind his hand to hide it from the others. Pidge ran up and peeked, causing Keith to back up behind Shiro. She furrowed her brow and planted her hands on her hips. “Keith, you need to get to the infirmary.”

Shiro brought his hand up to Keith’s upper back and gave him a gentle push in the direction of the Castle med bay. Keith scowled and reluctantly let Shiro guide him, the other three Paladins trotting close behind. Hunk looked rapidly between the two and finally prompted, “Guys? What happened down there?” Keith’s expression turned pinched. “ _Shiro?_ What happened?”

Shiro glanced over his shoulder. “We completed the mission.”

Lance huffed. “Really? And no one died? _That’s_ a shocker.”

“Lance,” Shiro warned.

“Well, obviously _something_ went down! We’re not stupid, you know! We saw Red attacking the base and were literally ticks away from pulling you two out of there ourselves!”

“It’s not my story to tell. It’s Keith’s.” Shiro looked over his shoulder again, pointedly. “Until then, it would be best for you guys to give him some space.”

Shiro escorted Keith into the med bay and helped him up onto a table while the others hovered at the threshold of the doorway. Keith looked absolutely miserable.

“Um.” Hunk shifted his weight and tapped the tips of his fingers together, a nervous gesture. “Can we help? We don’t have to talk, just…” Keith glanced up at him, expression… vague. Lance decided to label it ‘hopeful.’

After a long moment, Shiro finally sighed and walked towards them, stopping at the door. “Pidge? Would you mind helping Keith out of his armor while I track down the first aid kit?” Pidge beamed and hurried over to Keith; Shiro then turned to Lance and Hunk. “You guys can go check in with Allura and Coran. We’ll take care of things here.” And then he shut the door in their faces.

Lance gaped at the sealed door-panel like a fish, hands twitching into the shape of fists.

Hunk sidled up to him and meekly turned him around. “Hey… Look, don’t make a big deal out of it, it’s fine…”

“ _No it’s not fine!_ ” Lance hissed, shaking. “I _told_ him- _I freaking told him_ that taking Keith was a bad idea! The Marmora base is half-destroyed and did you see the way Keith was carrying himself?! He was _beaten!_ I wanna know what the hell happened! And Shiro has the fu- the nerve, the- the g-? _the nerve_ , to say ‘Oh, I need someone level-headed and in control and whose Lion can withstand the heat and obviously Keith is the perfect choice!’ _¡Son pendejadas!_ I’m the marksman of the team so I’m always in control, and Yellow is the most durable Lion! _We were both better choices!_ ”

Hunk marched him away from the door, whispering, “Dude, what if they hear you?!”

“ _Let them!_ ” he yelled.

Hunk dragged Lance further down the hallway for about fifteen yards before finally stopping and turning to face him, brows furrowed and mouth tightened into a pout. “Look, Lance… I… I get you. But Shiro, he’s under a lot of stress, he’s still grieving for Ulaz, we should give him some slack-”

“ _No_ , Hunk, we shouldn’t. This isn’t a one-time thing; he’s been doing this the whole time! Keith and Pidge? I love them, God knows I do, but they’re Shiro’s favorites, and we’re… not. It’s _not fair_ , and it’s getting people _hurt!_ ”

Hunk seemed ready with a comeback until the word ‘hurt.’ Then, his expression fell and he drooped like a wilting flower. “Just…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to… I don’t… It’s _fine_ , really…”

Lance poked a finger into Hunk’s chest. “This is why I need to tell him, Hunk,” he said, softer.

Hunk met his gaze, worry-lines heavy on his face. “Just don’t… Just be nice about it, okay?” Lance heaved a sigh and crossed his arms, looking away. “I’m gonna go do what Shiro said and check in with the others.”

Lance let him go and leaned against the wall. Fifteen minutes later, the med-bay door opened and Keith and Pidge walked out. They gave him small smiles and waves, and Lance returned it. As they approached, Keith said, “Hey, Lance… I have something really important that I need to tell everyone. We’re going to the command center.”

Lance straightened and rubbed his shoulder. “Uh… does it have be right now? Can it wait a bit? I need to talk with Shiro.”

The tension in Keith’s shoulders eased a little. “Yeah.” He exhaled and relaxed. “I can wait. I can _totally_ wait. We’ll meet you there, I guess?”

Lance nodded and sent them on their way, then turned and started walking toward the door. He leaned around the corner and saw Shiro putting the kit back in its cabinet. “Hey, Shiro?”

“Hey Lance,” Shiro said, distracted. He shut the cabinet and hurried towards the door, then stopped short when Lance blocked it.

“Can we talk? In private?”

A look of mild irritation flashed across his face for a moment. “Not now, Lance.” Shiro brushed past him and started walking down the hallway. “We need to be in the command center with the others.”

Lance sped after him, choking back the hot-flash anger that was threatening to boil over. “If not now, when?!”

“Whenever there’s time. Right now, there’s more important things to worry about.”

Lance wrinkled his nose. “How do you know what I have to say isn’t important?”

Shiro huffed a laugh. “Since when do you ever say anything serious? Now come on, I’m sure it can wait.”

Lance’s voice turned brittle. “Shiro.” He stopped, but Shiro kept walking. “Shiro!” Shiro ignored him.

Lance stomped his foot as hard as he could on the ship’s metal floor and screeched, “ _SHIRO!_ ”

Shiro turned on his heel and fixed Lance with a harsh glare, crossing his arms. He tilted his head slightly.

“Will you just _listen to me_ for _once?!_ ”

“I’m listening,” Shiro stated, mouth settling into a severe line.

Lance blinked and forced himself to control his breathing. He bounced his fists off of his thighs twice before relaxing his hands. “Okay. Your reasoning for taking Keith today? Was garbage, and we both know it. You can be biased, but don’t _lie_ about it, okay?!”

“That’s _ridic_ -”

“ _No!_ Listen! The only people you ever listen to are Keith and Pidge! You only agree with me or Hunk if you were already thinking it in the first place, and you never take us seriously like you do them! We almost lost huge allies in the fight against Zarkon today and _Keith got hurt_ because you valued _his_ opinions over _mine!_ And it _hurts!_ ” Lance’s voice cracked.

Shiro’s eyes widened slightly. His arms loosened and began to drift downwards.

“And you know what else hurts?” Lance continued. “I feel useless, like- like I don’t do anything or like I’m not good enough, because you give all your attention to Keith and Pidge! It’s really obvious that you want to make them better Paladins, but then I’m just like, am I not worth it? Is it my ADHD? Am I too _difficult_ , or- or stupid?!”

Shiro’s arms fell apart and drifted forward slightly. His jaw fell open before he forced, “ _No_.”

“But you make me feel like I am! And _Hunk!_ Shiro, do you even _talk_ to him?!” Shiro opened his mouth. “ _Outside of orders_.” Shiro closed his mouth. “You never talk with him. You talk _at him_ , but you never seem concerned with how he’s doing or what he’s thinking or how he’s holding up if it’s not mission critical! He’s worth more than just the guy who takes hits good! And Pidge? You’ve made her responsible for, like, all the tech on our missions! You realize Hunk is just as good with fixing tech and engineering as she is, right? He’s an astro-engineering mechanic, but nobody would ever _know that!_ You put _all that responsibility_ on Pidge alone, and if anything ever goes wrong, she’s also going to do that to herself with the blame! And _Keith!_ Do you even realize what you’re doing to him?!”

Shiro looked like a deer caught in headlights. He shook his head, then looked behind him when they heard a soft noise; Hunk was peeking around the corner. When he saw that he was spotted, he ducked his head and quickly made his way to Lance’s side to stand beside him, pressing his shoulder against his. Lance took a deep breath. 

“You’re expecting way too much out of him – and I don’t mean that in a bad way, _I swear_ – but he’s like an ant under a magnifying glass, dude! You’re freaking him out! We can all tell that you’re asking him to do things he’s not comfortable with! Keith, he- Keith just- He just _can’t do_ some things, it’s not the way he works, it’s not the way his brain is wired, and that’s _not a bad thing!_ But you keep trying to change him into some sort of ‘Ideal Keith’ instead of just letting him be _Keith_.” Lance gritted his teeth and looked away long enough to blink back tears. “You’re supposed to be a hero! You’re supposed to know everything! When I was in the Garrison, I thought you were the perfect role model, that you were who I should try to be! But you’re not! _You’re nothing like the you I knew!_ ”

Shiro tightened his grip on his elbows and stared resolutely at the floor. Lance brought his sleeve up to his eyes while Hunk gently grabbed hold of his shoulders. Hunk worked his jaw for a moment before managing, “And… And, well. Another thing is that- with Keith, he doesn’t really have anything tying him to Earth, because _you’re_ his family, and that’s really nice, and Pidge has her mom but her main drive is her lost brother and father, which is _not_ nice, but you’re a family friend so you feel responsible for her and that’s cool. But, me and Lance? Our families are back on Earth. We left without the chance to say goodbye and they’re probably worried sick about us and we really really miss them, and space is _huge_ and we’re fighting in a _war_ and we need an adult in our corner because we’re _scared_. We don’t want to take you away from Keith and Pidge, but… we need _more_ than a leader.” He let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah. So. We’re gonna… go now.”

Hunk guided them both down the opposite hallway towards their quarters. They determinedly refused to look back at Shiro.

\--

Lance and Hunk sat on the couch in the rec room opposite of Pidge, all peering skeptically at a 1,000-piece unconventionally shaped Altean puzzle depicting some kind of bird. It was their best idea to pass the time until curfew that was compatible with the palpable tension on the ship. Keith had come out as part Galra to the team one by one, starting with Pidge in the med bay. He told Hunk second, then found Lance. He came out to Coran and Allura last of all, and apparently Allura… well. Coran alleviated the worst of the damage by chasing him down and apologizing with a big hug, but Keith was out of commission for the rest of the night, locked in his room.

“So… we should try the borders first, right?” Hunk prompted.

Pidge wrinkled her brow. “That’s the thing; I don’t think there _are_ borders.”

Hunk elbowed Lance in the side and went, “Do you have any idea how to start this thing?” When he got no response, he turned and saw Lance staring blankly out the port window, rapidly jiggling his leg. He waved his hand in front of his eyes and saw no change. “Dude?”

Lance blinked and finally sat up, his leg stilling. “Huh?”

“You _spaced_ out there, buddy.” One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Pidge snort-laughed. Hunk smirked.

Lance blinked again. “Oh.” He slumped against the back cushions and began rapidly tapping his feet.

Pidge peered behind Hunk at him. “Is this about the whole ‘Keith is Galra’ thing?”

Lance huffed and waved her off. “I don’t care about that.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Lance dragged a hand down his face and sprawled out his legs. “I kinda sorta screamed at Shiro earlier.”

“You _what?!_ ”

At that moment, Shiro walked through the door, dressed drown for the night. All three kids sat up and tensed.

Shiro looked at Pidge and gently asked, “Would you mind giving us some privacy, Pidge?”

Pidge grinned tightly then jumped to her feet, backing out of the room with two thumbs up. When the opposite door closed behind her, Shiro sighed and walked over to where the two boys were sitting on the couch, then got down onto his knees to sit in front of them. There wasn’t a trace of anger anywhere on Shiro’s face – his muscles were relaxed, his eyes were soft, and his mouth wasn’t a stern line but a gentle frown. “I’d like to talk. About earlier.”

Hunk tucked his hands into his lap while Lance rubbed the back of his neck. They nodded.

Shiro stared at his knees and took a deep breath, then looked them in eye. “I wanted to say… that you’re right. All of it. There are _no excuses_ for the way I’ve been treating you.” He looked at Lance, his eyebrows furrowing in a pinched expression of remorse. “Lance, you are an essential and equally valuable member of this team, and I’m mortified that I made you feel like you were _inconvenient_ , or- or _stupid_. Your ADHD does _not_ make you a burden; it’s a part of you, and who you are is an incredibly kind, competent, and skilled young man who keeps us smiling and gets us home safely. But I… I _don’t_ give you enough attention, I _don’t_ praise you enough, and I _don’t_ listen to you properly.”

Shiro turned to Hunk, next. “The same goes to you, Hunk. This whole time, I’ve been grossly underestimating you. I’ve been sidelining your skills in favor of Pidge in the field, and that’s wrong. I’ve listened to Matt chat my ear off about her for years, so I’ve come to associate her with tech and engineering instead of you because I don’t know you as well, and that’s _my fault_. The both of you – you and Lance – are incredible Paladins and bright young men, and you deserve better than how I’ve been treating you, and for that, I’m so, _so sorry_.” Shiro placed his hands on the floor and bowed low.

Lance and Hunk glanced at each other in a state of mild shock, their ears and cheeks slowly darkening. “ _Pshhhh_ ,” Hunk huffed, a grin spreading across his face. “We forgive you!”

“So… So things are going to be different now?” Lance prompted, eyes wide and hopeful.

Shiro slowly sat up. “Yeah. They are. I want to get closer with you guys, and I want you to feel more comfortable with me. I’m not perfect, I don’t know everything, and I need a good chewing out sometimes, so this is going to be a two-way street from now on. I’m going to make things better – I swear.” He held out his pinkie and smiled.

Hunk and Lance beamed and wrapped their pinkies around his. Shiro stretched up and pulled them both into a hug, which they happily returned with a tight squeeze.

“You know,” Lance mused, “you’re still my hero.”

“Funny,” Shiro huffed. “Because you all are mine.”


End file.
